Farmers Co-Op Elevator Co. expands

ROB KURTYCZ/The Grand Rapids PressBig load: Farmers Co-Op Elevator Co. employees Ryan DeKleine and Cal Diekema load farm feed into bags. Diekema's grandfather worked for the mill and his son also works for it. The co-op was established in 1917.

His daughter-in-law, Sarah Ter Haar, buys pop and occasionally, cat food at the general store, 6588 Byron Road. And if either of them stop by at the right time, Norm 's daughter, Bethany Ter Haar, is running the cash register.

The community is tight-knit at the Farmers Co-Op's Vriesland operations, which include the feed mill, 2354 64th St., dating back more than 50 years; the general store, which opened about a decade later; and the agronomy plant, 2327 64th St.

"I've been going there my entire life," Norm Ter Haar, 52, said of the feed mill.

His father, Hudson, was also involved with the co-op.

The Ter Haars are indicative of the co-op's membership of 650, which is committed to helping make the agribusiness work. To do so, that means evolving.

The early days

Based in Hudsonville, Farmers Co-Op was established in 1917.

The company acquired Box & Basket in 1977 to supply the horticultural market. It started its Turf & Ornamental Division in 1996 to supply commercial landscapers, nurserymen and golf courses.

And as part of its ongoing evolution, it is partnering with J&H Oil Co. of Wyoming to build the $1.2 million, 6,000-square-foot Vriesland Country Store. The establishment is expected to open before Christmas.

"In this day and age, where this business isn't what it used to be, you've got to join forces," said J&H Oil Vice President Craig Hoppen, born and raised about a mile from the Vriesland mill.

"Our world has become so small that little things that happen in Africa can affect us here."

Farmers Co-Op General Manager Jim Roskam understands this.

"Co-ops are pretty much like dinosaurs," said Roskam, who has been in his post since 1989. "We've diversified enough to be able to continue to grow."

Continued growth

The co-op had $7 million in revenue when Roskam joined. Now, it does about $30 million in annual sales and employs 40 people.

The revenues last year included a $400,000 profit, distributed to its membership, primarily farmers as far away as Sand Lake and Bangor.

Roskam said the rising prices of gas and food have been challenging for everyone involved.

"Commodities have become much more global," he said. As a result, the company has been trading more on the futures market.

Hoppen projects the Vriesland Country Store will generate about $1.3 million to $1.4 million in annual sales, not including gasoline.

The store, being built by Priority Construction and to be branded as Exxon, also will sell bags of feed and fertilizer produced by the co-op.

Convenience-store employee Beth Ter Haar, 21, will be offered a job at the new store, which is expected to be open every day.

Brad Diekema, 18, also will be offered a job. He now works second shift.

He is the son of Cal Diekema, a 54-year-old who has worked at the feed mill for 30 years and oversees it. They are continuing a family tradition, with Cal's late grandfather, Ben, having worked for the company, too.

Community ties

Cal knows the mill -- and the co-op -- well.

He points to where corn is dumped from farmers' trucks into an open grid.

From there, it's propelled 140 feet upward through a metal elevator and carried horizontally into a large dryer, where the corn is heated, dried and cooled.

Eventually, the corn is stored in a 100,000-bushel bin, until trucks drive under a hatch, which opens to release a ton of feed.

"They say that on a clear day you can see Lake Michigan," he said of the view from atop the grain-leg elevator.